Associated Press | Industrial stocks stumbled Friday after China said it would take more steps to keep its economy from growing too fast.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 45.05, or 0.4
percent, to 10,099.14. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped
2.96, or 0.3 percent, to 1,075.51, while the Nasdaq composite index
rose 6.12, or 0.3 percent, to 2,183.53.

Regulators in China are trying to keep the nation’s rapid economic growth from getting out of hand. But investors worry that a slowdown in China could disrupt a U.S. recovery by hurting exports and profits of companies that do business there.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 45 points but had been down as much as 160 points after China said its banks would have to hold on to more cash. That cuts down on how much they can lend.

Stocks ended mixed but the Dow and other major indexes posted gains for the week, their first after four losing weeks.

The surprise announcement out of China came a day after a tame inflation report there raised hopes that the country wouldn’t have to do more to put the brakes on its supercharged economy.

China’s move was only the latest development to rattle traders. The stock market has fallen from 15-month highs in the past four weeks as traders recoil from policy fights in Washington and from economic problems popping up in Europe such as Greece’s debt crisis.

Just the whiff of a slowdown in China was enough to batter shares of industrial companies and materials producers. The reasons are twofold: A slower-growing Chinese economy would mean weaker demand for industrial goods like metals and jet engines. Also, a jump in the dollar and the corresponding weakness in commodities prices that resulted hurt companies that rely on oil, copper and other basic materials to make money.

Aluminum producer Alcoa, airplane maker Boeing and General Electric each fell more than 1 percent. All three are among the 30 stocks that make up the Dow Jones industrials.

Richard C. Kang, chief investment officer and director of research at Emerging Global Advisors in Ridgewood, New Jersey, said big U.S. companies now look to developing markets like China for a growing part of their sales so the strength of foreign economies is crucial.

“Every investor always thought ‘China builds, Wal-Mart sells. End of story,”‘ Kang said. “If you look at the U.S. and who they export to, China is very quickly going up that list.”

A similar action to curb bank lending nearly a month ago in China spooked the market and helped start a slide that has brought major indexes down for four straight weeks. In afternoon trading, the Dow was above 10,000 but barely in the black for the week.

Concerns about debt problems in Greece as well as Portugal, Ireland and Spain hurt stocks during the week. On Thursday, European Union leaders pledged to provide Greece with support. There has been worry that debt problems there could spread and destabilize Europe’s common currency, the euro.

For the week, the Dow and the S&P 500 index each rose 0.9 percent while the Nasdaq jumped 2 percent.